The ABU Technical Committee 2023 Meeting, an integral part of the 60th ABU General Assembly, commenced on 28 October at the KBS-Korea headquarters. The two-day event saw an impressive line-up of speakers, reports, and presentations aiming to shape the future of broadcast technology.

The session opened with a welcome address by Hamid Nayeri, Chairman of the Technical Committee, who underscored the advancement in broadcast technologies and the challenges and opportunities they present. Ahmed Nadeem, ABU Secretary General, also delivered an opening address reiterating his commitment to supporting ABU members in the technical domain.

The meeting took a moment to honour excellence with the announcement of the 2023 Annual ABU Engineering Awards and Technical Review Prizes. These awards celebrated distinguished individuals and organisations that have made remarkable contributions to broadcasting engineering across several categories.

Masakazu Iwaki, a Research Engineer at NHK-STRL Japan, enthralled attendees with a keynote presentation titled “Emerging Technologies for Future Public Media.” Dr. Veysel Binbay later presented the ABU Technology Activity Report, highlighting the Union’s initiatives to drive innovation and excellence in broadcasting engineering.

Lee Yoon Jae, Deputy Manager at KBS Media Technical Research Institute, offered insights into AI-powered production, whilst Joonam Lee from the Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA) discussed Korea’s role in broadcasting development in the Asia-Pacific region.

The second day began with reports from topic area chairmen, ranging from production to training and services. An information exchange session provided updates on technical developments within member organisations over the past year. Additionally, proposals, including one on ‘Implementing Attendance Policy for Bureau Meetings’, were put forth for approval.

The committee saw the election of new office bearers, including Masashi Kamei from NHK-Japan as the new TC Chairman. Two new members, SBA-Saudi Arabia and PBC-Pakistan, were elected for the term 2024-2025.

The afternoon sessions were centred around cutting-edge technological implementations, including Internet TV for the deaf and disaster alert systems. A representative from TRT, next year’s host, closed the session with an invitation to the 61st ABU General Assembly in Istanbul.